If I Die Before You Wake
by AuronLu
Summary: One-shot PWP. 20 years into the Eternal Calm, old lovers get by one day at a time, knowing that any night could be Auron's last. WAFF Lemon. Set some years after 'Till Death Do Us Part,' but you don't need to read that for this to make sense.


A/N This is a one-shot sequel to my seven-chapter _Till Death Do Us Part,_ but you don't have to have read that to follow this scene.

* * *

-

A muddy cobblestone path leading back into the jungle from the village square was easy to miss at night; so was the round house set well back among the trees.

The interior was pitch-dark, but Auron knew by instinct where to duck to miss the racks of drying herbs. He walked forward until his hands brushed against a thick hanging tapestry. Swinging it sideways he stepped through, taking care that the wooden rod weighting the bottom didn't knock against the frame. There he halted, listening for the whispery snore whose existence Lulu strenuously denied.

He smirked when he heard it. His simple world fell into place as he lowered the curtain-door behind him and crossed the half-circle of a room. Moving quietly, he unbuckled his belt, draped it across a chest at the foot of the bed, laid the sword across it, shucked his hauberk, and sat down on the rug to wrestle with his boots. His old red greatcoat was folded away in the chest, waiting for the monsoons. Besaid's steaming jungle was nothing like the chill dripping forests outside Bevelle; it had still taken him a year to give in.

He wondered if she'd kept his glasses.

Despite his stealth, Lulu stirred under the sheets and rolled towards him, reaching for a lamp on the nightstand. With a snap of her fingers, she conjured a flame over the wick. Suddenly she jerked her hand back, hissing between her teeth.

Auron turned and slipped his hand under hers, bringing it to his lips. He blew gently on her fingers. "You shouldn't do that when you're asleep."

"You shouldn't do that if you want me to stop," she returned ritually, snuggling back into the pillows with a drowsy smile.

"Hmph."

He finished undressing and climbed in beside her as she pulled back the sheet and swept it over him. It was all perfectly routine. Nonetheless, Lulu propped herself on one elbow to look at him, soaking up the sight of his craggy features, the white tufts of hair around his ears and the color of his one good eye. Auron fixed her with his own mute inspection, idly brushing aside the silver-fretted curtain of black hair spilling over the left side of her face.

This, too, was part of their nightly ritual, because nothing for them could ever be perfectly simple or routine.

They leaned together for a nuzzling kiss. Auron slipped an arm around her waist and nestled down against her, inhaling the scent of his favorite pillow.

"Off early tonight?" she said.

"Gatta's taking the new cadets on patrol."

"For once." Her fingers stole down his back, kneading knotted muscles. '"He should take the night shift more often."

"Gatta's married now."

She chuckled. "I'm just surprised he doesn't use it as an excuse to dodge diaper duty."

"Unlikely," he said. "He's told me more about infant care than I ever cared to know."

Lulu smiled wistfully at Auron's jaundiced look. "How's Vidina?"

"Moping in the Lodge -- or he was earlier this evening. Yuna wants him to stay off the foot another day to make sure the bones are fully healed." Auron grimaced. "I'm sorry, Lulu--"

She placed two fingers over his lips. "Ssst. It's Crusader's training, not weaving lessons. Maybe now he'll stop complaining that you teach more about falls than how to fight."

"Maybe flans will fly." He kissed her fingers again. "Also, I caught Janni practicing Thunder in the cloisters."

The mage frowned. "Alone?"

"Father Turan tells me that she takes after the instructor." He smirked at Lulu's suddenly prim expression. "She should be just about finished cleaning and oiling the practice weapons."

"Ha. Good."

An easy silence fell. The massage slowly weakened to idle caresses, then her hand went still. Her breaths lengthened, and he heard the beginnings of a telltale squeak.

Auron patted her hip. "The lamp?"

"Not sleepy," she protested, stifling a yawn.

"Tell that to your--"

A shriek somewhere back in the the village abruptly sent him lurching towards the foot of the bed. The mage's breathy chuckle pulled him up short as his hand closed over the sword-hilt.

"Oh." He snorted.

The hand propped under her cheek shifted sideways, blocking him when he started to lie down again on his stomach. She splayed her fingers under his chest. " _Now_ I'm awake," she said, watching him languidly under half-closed lids. "Why should the kids have all the fun?"

Auron seldom wasted words. He rolled over her, propping himself on his forearms to take the weight off her elbow, and sank into her mouth.

They melted together in a slow, sensual kiss. Legs entwined as tongue darted against tongue. Lulu's hand drifted lower. Rumbling softly, he swayed forward and back, tickling her breasts with the sparse bristles dusting his chest. The fleeting contact teased her nipples into peaks.

Her bangs had fallen across half her face, but it made no difference, not when they were locked eye to eye, each filling the other's field of vision.

Lulu's lashes glistened. He never asked why. It didn't matter whether she wept for joy or for fear that the other pillow might be empty in the morning. It just mattered.

Her fingers had homed in on that perilous spot where bristles gave way to black-and-gray curls. The wish that she would, for Yevon-be-damned's sake, cut her nails before touching him there was driven out of his mind when those teasing fingertips drew together like the lightning spokes of _thundaga_ converging on a target. He lurched above her, groaning into her mouth. Lulu purred and sucked his tongue lewdly, letting her fingers trickle down the sides of his cock. _Witch_. The mage's fleeting touches had left behind wet trails; he could feel the beads of water warming rapidly on his heated skin. Her slick palm swirled over the head. Then, mercifully, she closed her hand and started to pleasure him in earnest. His hips began to pulse in time to her strokes.

They kissed noisily while her hand worked its magic. Supporting himself on his arms, he was less free to explore, but she made up for it by cupping her breasts, first one and then the other, and rolling her nipples against his skin.

Almost he left matters in her hands, losing himself in sensory delights, but finally he found the willpower to tear his mouth away and gasp her name hoarsely. Lulu was panting too, watching him with profound tenderness as the stern lines of his face came unravelled. He was gripping her shoulders tightly -- maybe too tightly; there were dimples in them when he let go -- and his sweat was pooling in the hollow of her breasts, glossing her skin with a sheen that caught the flickering light of the lamp's flame. Fleetingly he considered licking her clean, nibbling and teasing her delicious curves until she was mewling and writhing beneath him. But there were other ways to achieve that end, and one of them was growing imperative.

He bumped her cheek with his lips, tipping her head to one side with a gentle nudge, and closed his teeth lightly around an earlobe. Hot breaths beat against her neck.

Three gruff words snapped out with the authority of sword-strokes. "I. Want. You."

"Oh, Auron--"

He wasted time no more often than he did words. Bracing a knee against the mattress, he swung his lower body between her legs, freeing himself from her intimate grasp. Her thighs opened in mute invitation. Shifting slightly to center himself, he thrust forward, ramming her into the bed. The sorceress gave a high, choking cry and clutched at his ribs, nails digging in.

Once Auron had been embarrassed by Besaid's lack of privacy. Heavy canvas walls were thick enough to keep out water and weather, but loud noises cut through them, and the jungle's shimmering chorus of cicadas and crickets could hardly disguise certain sounds. He'd ceased to care. Let the youngsters titter and whisper tomorrow. It was only envy.

Her panting sighs grew louder as he slowed his pace, pumping her with deep, deliberate strokes that made her breasts heave deliciously -- never mind that they sagged, never mind that she fretted over the wrinkles between them, they were still an arresting sight.

Gasping, she dug into the mattress with her heels and tilted her hips, drawing her knees up to give him a better angle. He growled again and plunged deeper. Her sultry moan nearly toppled him over the edge.

Lulu tipped up her chin, laughed breathlessly and twisted her head to free her nose from his swinging ponytail. She caught his eye and mouthed, "I love you." The sweet whisper transformed into an exquisitely wanton moan as he bucked in answer.

Auron bent to mark her temple with his teeth, nipping what he could reach. "Touch yourself," he hissed, shuddering as her muscles squeezed him more tightly. "Want you... with me."

"Ooh..."

She twined one hand in his hair, keeping eye contact as she slid her other hand down between their sweat-slick bodies. Her lips parted even before she reached her goal; the intimate sounds of their coupling were clearly audible when he caught his breath. He froze with a jolt when her nails grazed his cock; she heard his hands clawing the bed on either side of her ears as he struggled silently for control. He must be holding himself back.

Auron. Her lover. Brown eye burning with an unquenchable fire that kept him this side of the Farplane-- for now, at least; both knew better than to trust happily ever afters. Her hand's trembling was not entirely voluntary as she pressed two fingertips against her sex and quivered them just so.

He clenched his teeth and started to move again, fitfully now, driving her closer and then seizing up, panting hard, leaving her yearning frantically for her own release. She wanted to scold him for being a martyr even in the throes of passion, but her voice was a stranger's, pouring out those mewling whimpers that he loved. Her pitch began to rise as she focussed on the powerful feel of him between her thighs, slippery with the heady scents of their lovemaking, pounding into her forcefully enough to rock the bed and probably the whole house. Dimly she registered that he was hurting her, as one might be aware yet fail to realize that the sun's rays were beginning to burn.

Ragged grunts were forming themselves into words. _"...love you. Damn Yevon, I love you...witch..."_

She arched under him, hands and feet curling as the tingling pleasure began to well up and spill over.

That did it. l He drove into her with a shout, head flung back as his control finally snapped. She wrapped her arms around him as he shuddered, flooding her with warmth that she dimly sensed as she hung there beneath him, suspended on the cusp of her own climax.

Blood surged in her ears. Abruptly her vision went black, heightening sounds, scents, and the overpowering sensations of Auron moving inside her. Lulu muffled her wild cry against his shoulder as the rising wave of ecstasy finally crashed and spread out, making her writhe helplessly until the tremors began to ebb.

The lamp had burned out. They kissed softly in the dark, feeling each other's pounding heartbeats. Auron gathered her close and rolled onto his side, still moving slightly within her. Gradually they relaxed in each other's embrace.

He thought she'd drifted off again, but a drowsy mumble stirred him to plant a firm kiss on her forehead in homage to her quiet courage.

"See you in the morning, Auron."


End file.
